The Sins in the Scarlet Letter
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a main theme is stressed. This theme is directly tied to the sins of the main characters: Hester Pryne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Hawthorne depicted a story in which one sin led the lives of these three individuals into downward spiral consisting of torment and suffering. This sin, however, may not be the greatest.
Hester Pryne was guilty of the sin, ignominy, more commonly known as adultery. Throughout the novel Hawthorne described Hester as a passionate woman, such as when she tore the scarlet letter from her chest while talking to Dimmesdale in the forest, and led the reader to believe that such reckless and passionate acts were within her nature. While wearing the scarlet letter Hester learned how to repress her passion, which led her into her life of solitude. In order to repent Hester had to stand in front of the town, on a scaffold, and was made to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her bosom for her life. Since Hester was in such solitude she has a great deal of free time. Rather than wasting this time she knitted clothes and spent her time helping others, hereby proving how caring a woman she actually was. Through her daughter Pearl, Hester eventually learned how to repent and achieved her salvation.
The Minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, not only committed the sin of adultery, but also fails to reveal his sin until the day of his death. The fact that Arthur is a minister and commits adultery is disheartening, but he too was human and capable of error. The real sin of Arthur was to leave Hester by herself to wear the scarlet, and suffer the cruelties of the town without he himself also showing his face. This act of cowardice in itself led Arthur into deep depression. Arthur chronically put his hand over his chest and always had a sad look of melancholy in his eyes, which showed his torment. He was in such emotional torment because of his sin that he would fast, whip himself, and perform all night visuals, all of which left him in a decrepit and emaciated form. Through his actions the reader realizes how much Arthur wanted to repent, but even when Pearl asks him to walk into the town with herself and Hester, he refuse to do so because of his cowardice. At the end of the novel, after his final sermon, Arthur climbed the scaffold with Hester and Pearl and admitted his sin to the community. Although he perished immediately after he declared his guilt, Arthur achieved salvation by repenting and admitting his sin.
Roger Chillingworth devoted his life to seeking revenge on Arthur and doing God's work, this in itself being his sin. Roger also failed to reveal his true identity and forced Hester into promising she would never reveal his identity. Hawthorne described Roger as a dark character and often said he was the Devil or one of his servants. Roger lived with Arthur tormented him indirectly. He watched Arthur suffer in pain and he enjoyed keeping him alive and in such a state. Roger never forgave Arthur for sin and took God's role in the punishment of him. Roger never repented nor did he ever want to, therefore he never achieved his salvation. The greatest of all sins is the sin that one does not repent. Therefore, Roger is guilty of the greatest sin out of the three characters. Hester and Arthur were aware that what they did was wrong, and suffered, either within or without, in order to achieve salvation. Roger did not suffer at all, but rather received enjoyment out of watching others in suffering. He also decided to take the role of God, as punisher of Arthur, this too contributed to making his sin the greatest of the three, The role of God is for God and should not be played by a human on earth. In conclusion, Roger Chillingworth was guilty of committing the greatest sin in The Scarlet Letter.